Art Crews (born January 3, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Central States, Mid-South and Pacific Northwest territories, during the 1980s.
In Shawn Michaels' autobiography Heartbreak & Triumph, Michaels explains that Art Crews was the very first person he wrestled in his career, making him the first person to ever defeat Michaels.
Career
Early life and career
Born in Topeka, Kansas, and grew up in Meriden, Kansas, Crews was a fan of professional wrestling as a child, often attending wrestling events in Saint Joseph, Missouri, with his mother, Billie Crews. Trained by Pat O'Connor and Ronnie Etchison, Crews made his debut in 1980 fighting Billy Howard to a time limit draw at the Kansas City Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
After spending almost two years in the Southeast, he began competing for Pacific Northwest Wrestling, defeating Chris Colt at the Sports Arena in Portland, Oregon, on September 5, 1981, and was later named the PNW "Rookie of the Year" by the end of the year. He appeared in Maple Leaf Wrestling, teaming with Kenny Jay against Jerry and Johnny Valiant at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium in Oshawa, Ontario, pinning Johnny Valiant on October 1, 1981, due in part to outside interference from the Rougeau Brothers.
Feuding with Dizzy Hogan in January 1982, he also lost several matches against Matt Borne, "Playboy" Buddy Rose, Billy White Wolf and fought to a draw against Stan Stasiak later that month.
Losing to Gene Kiniski on February 3, he later defeated Tiger Chung Lee and Terry Fargo. Hogan, however, dominated their feud during mid-February but finally lost to him on February 27, 1982.
Mid-South Wrestling and Central States
Moving on to the St. Louis area, Crews teamed with "Bulldog" Bob Brown to defeat Gene Lewis and Ron MacFarlane at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 16, 1982. Facing Dewey Robertson in a series of matches during the year, he also faced Baron von Raschke, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Terry Funk and Kerry von Erich in televised matches on the NWA's "Wrestling at the Chase" television program. WRESTLING AT THE CHASE, was St. Louis' TV program.
Facing "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Kamala in January 1983, he also teamed with Tim Horner against Marty Lunde and Tom Renesto and with Mr. Wrestling II against Tug Taylor and Joe Stark. The following month, he faced "Iron" Mike Sharpe and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan in several singles matches, as well as teaming with Tim Horner against Kelly Kiniski. Feuding with Kamala & The Black Ninja and later Mr. Olympia, Crews also appeared on the Superdome Extravaganza supercards defeating Kelly Kiniski on April 16 and later lost to George Weingroff on July 16.
Although losing to Steve Williams on August 12, he defeated Doug Vines and Tim Horner later that month. After losses to George Weingroff, Jim Neidhart and Nikolai Volkoff, he teamed with Donna Day in a mixed tag team match against Debbie Combs and "Wildfire" Tommy Rich on September 22.
He also teamed with Mike Bond against The Missing Link and King Kong Bundy and later with Tom Stanton against George Weingroff and King Cobra during October. He later teamed with Doug Vines losing to Jerry and Marty Oates on November 4 and, with US Steel, losing to The A-Team on November 21.
Teaming with Robert Gibson, Bobby Eaton, Stagger Lee and Giant Frazier in a 10-man tag team match, Crews lost to The A-Team, The Moondogs and Dennis Condrey on November 28. However, teaming with Robert Gibson, Bobby Eaton, Stagger Lee, Terry Taylor and Tom Pritchard, Crews was able to defeat The A-Team, The Moondogs, Dream Machine and Porkchop Cash on December 5 and, with Ricky Morton, Bobby Eaton and The Jaguar, defeated The Moondogs, Angelo Poffo and Franklin Hayes on December 19, 1983.
In early 1984, Crews teamed with The Jaguar losing to Norvell Austin and Sabu on January 1. A week later, he fought to a draw against Terry Gibbs and lost to King Konga on January 24. He also teamed with Dutch Mantel against Angelo Poffo and Randy Savage losing to them by disqualification on January 31.
The following month, he lost to Rick Rude and, with Tommy Gilbert, to The A-Team before defeating The Black Ninja on February 28. He also participated in the Mid-South Wrestling Southern Tag Team Championship Tournament with Tom Jones being eliminated by Tommy Rich and Eddie Gilbert in the opening rounds in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 26. After losses to Ox Baker and Jim Neidhart in early April, he left the area.